Local Issues

David Lloyd Club

Outside the David Lloyd Club with Ken Male, Debbie Stent and members of the Action Group

Together with Tobias Ellwood, M.P. for Bournemouth East, I have been supporting members of the David Lloyd Club in Knole Road, Bournemouth, to resist attempts to redevelop the site for housing. 

We have written to the Chief Executives of Whitbread, Badminton England, England Squash and Sport England and the Chairman of the National Olympic Committee since four of the badminton playing members are prospective U.K. representatives in our national team for the Olympics in 2012.  We have already received a letters of support from Sport England, England Squash and Badminton England.  In particular, Badminton England have said that 'it would be scandalous for the Council to permit the loss of this leisure site.'  They have made reprresentations to the Bournemouth Borough Council to oppose closure of the Club and to secure compensation for the loss of facilities through a Section 106 Agreement if it is not possible to have the application reviewed.

A planning application has been submitted to the Bournemouth Borough Council for 68 flats on the site and Tobias and I have written to the Chief Planning Officer to register our formal objections.  We believe that the proposal would constitute over-development and that there would not remain sufficient amenity land to provide a reasonable garden area for use by residents.  In addition, we believe that the proposed change of use from the existing sporting facility would be in breach of the Council’s obligations under Planning Policy Guidance 17, Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation 2002, and its companion document, Assessment of Needs and Opportunities, together with the Bournemouth Borough Council’s commitments under Policy Number 7.17.  However the Officers of the Council are recommending approval of the application.

Tobias and I have written to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Baroness Andrews, asking if she will call the application in since we believe that it is of sufficient importance for her to be asked to make a policy decision in relation to a loss of sporting facilities on this scale and that the matter can only be debated through the means of a public inquiry. 

We also had a meeting on the 17th July, 2008, with the Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe, to ask him if he would intervene to support the calling in of the planning application recently made by developers.  We asked the Minister to formally write to Baroness Andrews, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government. 

We feel that the offer by the developer to provide £180,000 for three new badminton courts at Portchester School hardly compensates for the loss of badminton courts, five squash courts, a gymnasium and a swimming pool at the David Lloyd Centre and are strongly of the opinion that this proposal should be called in for a public inquiry.